It depends. The Cost Per Click (CPC) of a Google Ad depends, in part, on what your competitors are bidding on their ads.
Some Law Firms are Running Ads at a Loss (Intentionally).
From Fresno to San Diego, you’ll see the same Los Angeles firms aggressively targeting southern California. Wilshire, JNY, West Coast Trial Lawyers, Morgan & Morgan and others target the major keywords here such as “personal injury lawyer” and “car accident lawyer”.
We ran a test in 2022 with a highly converting ad. The results:
- $600 CPC (cost per click was $600)
- $1,200 CPA (1 out of 2 people called, resulting in a $1,200 Cost Per Action)
- $12,000 CR (1 out of 10 callers became a case, resulting in a $12,000 Conversion Rate)
Essentially, it was $1,200 per lead and $12,000 per case.
I don’t know any personal injury attorneys who think $12,000 is a good price to pay per case. How could this be? Some of the firms mentioned above are always in the ads.
Well, some law firms are running PPC ads at a loss. Why?
- Some law firms look at their entire marketing budget. Let’s say they have $1,000,000/mo to work with and they’re running Google Ads, Local Services Ads, creating content, doing SEO, running TV commercials, using billboards and have ads on the sides of buses. If their entire marketing budget is cost effective, some firms choose to use forms of marketing which have a negative ROI.
- Some law firms have a strategy of marketing to past clients. They’re ok losing money on Google Ads because they focus on referrals from past clients, which reduces the CPA.
Most of the law firms running ads at a loss are also hoping they hit a home run once every year or two.
How Much Do Google Ads Cost Personal Injury Attorneys in 2023?
Prices vary from state to state, but the formula above is fairly accurate. With a highly optimized and convincing landing page, in general, 1 out of 2 people will call, and about 1 out of 10 callers will have a case, so you you’re basically looking at 1 case for every 20 clicks.
Since SoCal is an extreme place, here’s some data from Kentucky, which is about middle of the road:
- Personal Injury Lawyer $600
- Car Accident Lawyer $400
- Dog Bite Attorney $70
- Motorcycle Accident Lawyer $150
These prices vary depending on the city and competition level. The more attorneys bidding on certain key phrases, the most your ads will cost per click. Dog bite lawyer, for example, I’ve seen as low as $35 and as high as $85.
Here’s a screenshot of a 2022 campaign where we were able to get the average CPC down to $22.71 by targeting certain keywords other people overlooked. This is not a highly converting campaign, it’s just to show you that you can indeed have a CPC under $600 in the PI world:
Recap:
Now you’re armed with the prices. If these prices are worth it for you or not is up to you. Personally, I try to get our attorneys off of Google Ads. SEO for Personal Injury Attorneys is far more cost effective, and if you can get Local Services Ads to work for your law firm, those are often cost effective as well.
